(A quick note: In "Romeo and Juliet", Tybalt kills Romeo's friend, Mercutio. This makes Romeo angry and he kills Tybalt. You'll see why I'm telling you this soon...Also, the two poems featured in this story were both written by me, and won't be found in any books. I hope.)

(Two Days Later)

"Hey guys! The cast list is up!" Koichi said. His friends went over to him to see if they got in the play. Koichi read the list out loud. "Takuya's Tybalt; Darcy is Juliet's Nurse; Stormy is Lady Capulet; I'm Lord Capulet." He stopped, laughing. "I knew it," he said.

"What?" Koji asked. "Knew what?" But Koichi was laughing too hard to answer.

Ami read the list carefully. After about a minute, she gasped, smiling. "What?" everyone except Koichi said.

"The part of Romeo goes to...Koji!" Ami said. Everyone laugh and congratulated him.

"Wait," Takuya said, "Who gets to play his girlfriend?"

Ami and Koichi shrugged, not knowing. This time, it was Koji who looked at the list. He sighed a breath of relief.

"Well?" Stormy asked.

"Who's Juliet?" said Darcy, finishing her sister's sentence.

"Ami," Koji said, hoping he was hiding his excitement.

"What?" Ami said, checking the list again. "Are you sure?" She looked at the last two names. They read: "Romeo Montague-Koji Minamoto" and "Juliet Caplet- Ami Miato". Ami shook her head. "There must be some mistake," she said.

"Well, there's not," said Takuya. "It's written right there. You're Juliet."

Ami sighed. "Yeah," she said. "I guess so."

(3 weeks later, at the final dress rehearsal)

"Let's try the scene with the kiss now," the teacher said.

Ami nodded and the scene started. When Koji entered, he could tell she was nervous about something, even though she was lying still, as if she were dead. After Romeo died, Koji had to keep his eyes shut, but when Ami started saying her lines, he could tell she was very nervous. We've never done the end of the scene the way we're supposed to, he thought. She's been so nervous, and the teacher cut out all of the kissing part, except this last one. I never asked her why, but still, I can't help but wonder what's wrong.

"Good, good," the teacher said quietly. "Now, the kiss."

Ami nodded. She slowly leaned over Koji, about to kiss him, but just before their lips touched, she stopped.

"Well!" the teacher demanded. "Get on with it!"

Ami looked up. "I...I'm really sorry," she said, getting up, "But I can't do this." She ran off the stage. Koji sat up and watched her go. He heard the teacher sigh angrily and mumble, "In two hours, the curtain rises. In two hours, this one scene determines our success or failure."

Koji stood up and went after Ami, worried about her. He couldn't find her, but he did find the small notebook she was always carrying around and writing in, left open, and it seemed she had been writing just before she was called onstage. Without even realizing what he was doing, he started reading the poem in from of him. It was titled, "It's Hard", and it read:

"To be or not to be?

That is not the question.

To love, or not?

That is a question worth answering.

But its answer is not easily found.

For, I find my heart torn in two,

Wishing to tell you how I feel,

Yet, at the same time,

Wishing I could forget you.

It's hard to fall in love with a friend.

To cry or not to cry

For the brother who was always there,

And encouraged me to follow my heart

Who told me he would always be by my side?

But disappeared, like the wind.

He told me to tell you, my love,

To tell you how I feel.

But I am afraid

And now he's gone, too.

It's hard to loose a loved one."

At the very bottom of the page, it said "K.M.", and had a small heart next to it. Koji wondered just what it meant, and, lost in the only way he could get to Ami's heart, turned the page, to find a second one. This one was titled "Questions", and it read:

"Do I love you?

-Yes.

But will I tell you?

-No.

Why?

-I don't know.

These questions stir in my mind.

Why do I feel like this

Whenever you are near?

-I don't know that, either.

You fill my dreams,

It feels like you make my life complete.

But I'm still afraid to tell you.

Will you reject me?

Do you feel the same?

What am I to do?

I'm too scared to tell you

How much to mean to me.

If my heart breaks again,

It will never heal, I know.

Just the same,

Do I care for you?

-Yes.

Will I ever try to hurt you?

-No.

Why?

-Because, dear friend

...I love you."

This was signed AM. It looked to Koji like she had planned to send it to someone. He looked at the bottom of the page, and it said "To Koji M. If I ever get the courage to give it to him." Koji stared at that one line, amazed. He shook his head, snapping out of his daze, and mumbled, "I gotta get this back to her." He closed the small notebook and started for Ami's house.